Gabriel A. Dover (13 December 1937 – 1 April 2018) was a British

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processe ...

, best known for coining the term

molecular drive Molecular drive is a term coined by Gabriel Dover in 1982 to describe evolutionary processes that change the genetic composition of a population through DNA turnover mechanisms. Molecular drive operates independently of natural selection and genet ...

in 1982 to describe a putative third evolutionary force operating distinctly from

natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Charle ...

and

genetic drift Genetic drift, also known as allelic drift or the Wright effect, is the change in the frequency of an existing gene variant (allele) in a population due to random chance. Genetic drift may cause gene variants to disappear completely and there ...

Early life and education

Dover was born in Manchester in 1937. Born to a Jewish family, his first degree was in Hebrew and Aramaic (first class) from the University of London in 1960. His adolescence included moving to Palestine in 1938–1942, and again for 5 years after the war, when he lived in Israel on a kibbutz. Described as "deeply politicised" and discomforted with the plight of the Palestinians he returned to the UK, and pursued a life in academia. He moved from a degree in Hebrew to the University of Leeds where he took a first in botany in 1969 followed by a PhD in plant genetics at Cambridge under Sir Ralph Riley. He subsequently took up academic positions (Lecturer in genetics at Cambridge, Head of Department at Leicester), supervising many students. Dover was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

and

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...

from the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

. He was awarded a PhD from the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 1972 for research on the genetics and function of the

meiotic Meiosis (; , since it is a reductional division) is a special type of cell division of germ cells in sexually-reproducing organisms that produces the gametes, such as sperm or egg cells. It involves two rounds of division that ultimately res ...

pairing-control systems supervised by

Ralph Riley Sir Ralph Riley (23 October 1924 – 27 August 1999) was a British geneticist. He was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire in 1924 and served in the army during the Second World War. After the war he studied Botany at Sheffield University, foll ...

Research and career

Dover's research was on the

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

genes In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...

and

genomes In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding gen ...

, particularly the complex processes that occur in multigene families such as

ribosomal RNA Ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) is a type of non-coding RNA which is the primary component of ribosomes, essential to all cells. rRNA is a ribozyme which carries out protein synthesis in ribosomes. Ribosomal RNA is transcribed from ribosomal ...

genes. His recent work has focused on

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...

flies Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

, in particular the

co-evolution In biology, coevolution occurs when two or more species reciprocally affect each other's evolution through the process of natural selection. The term sometimes is used for two traits in the same species affecting each other's evolution, as well ...

between the developmental regulatory elements involved in

morphogenesis Morphogenesis (from the Greek ''morphê'' shape and ''genesis'' creation, literally "the generation of form") is the biological process that causes a cell, tissue or organism to develop its shape. It is one of three fundamental aspects of devel ...

. The majority of his career was spent at the Department of Genetics at the University of Cambridge. In 1992, Dover became a Professor of Genetics at the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

. He was awarded a

Research Fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

ship in 1997 and an Emeritus Fellowship in 2002 by the

Leverhulme Trust The Leverhulme Trust () is a large national grant-making organisation in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1925 under the will of the 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), with the instruction that its resources should be used to suppo ...

. Dover co-edited the textbook ''Genome Evolution''''Genome Evolution'' (Academic Press, 1982) with Richard B. Flavell. He also wrote a popular book on evolution, ''Dear Mr Darwin: Letters on the Evolution of Life and Human Nature'',''Dear Mr Darwin: Letters on the Evolution of Life and Human Nature'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2000) framed as an exchange of letters with

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

from beyond the grave. The book seeks to refute the

selfish gene theory With gene defined as "not just one single physical bit of DNA utall replicas of a particular bit of DNA distributed throughout the world", the gene-centered view of evolution, gene's eye view, gene selection theory, or selfish gene theory hol ...

promulgated by

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An ath ...

Personal life

Dover retired in 2002 and lived in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. He had three children. He died on 1 April 2018 of a chest infection.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dover, Gabriel 1937 births 2018 deaths British Jews 20th-century British biologists British geneticists Charles Darwin biographers Alumni of the University of Leeds Alumni of the University of Cambridge Academics of the University of Cambridge Academics of the University of Leicester Scientists from Manchester